We did not see this coming – most of us thought that Uber will put up a fight and stick to their surge pricing policy. However, a strict warning by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seems to have deflated Uber’s resistance.
According to reports, Uber has suspended Surge pricing in Delhi during the fortnight-long odd-even scheme, which had a first full working day on Monday.
The ban on surge pricing is currently limited to a fortnight when odd-even scheme is being implemented in the capital city!
How it happened?
Earlier in the day Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal sent out a stiff warning on Twitter promising strict action against the taxi hailing apps including permit cancellation and impounding of vehicles if they charged more than Govt prescribed rates.
Strict action, incl permit cancellation n impounding vehicle, to be taken against taxis which charge rates more than govt prescribed rates
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 18, 2016
Within hours of this tweet going out, Uber withdrew their surge pricing and announced on twitter that they are temporarily suspending the surge pricing.
Given the threat to the livelihood of our partners, at the expense of reliability, we are temporarily suspending surge with immediate effect
— Uber Delhi (@Uber_Delhi) April 18, 2016
We hope to work with the Delhi govt. to provide a reliable mobility option in the city, esp. at a time when the citizens need us the most
— Uber Delhi (@Uber_Delhi) April 18, 2016
Uber Delhi also added they will be working closely with Delhi Government to sort of this issue!
Why Did Uber take this Decision?
Delhi is obviously one of the biggest market for Uber in India. The ruling AAP has not been too kind to Uber or any other Taxi hailing apps for that matter. Uber on their part have had fair share of problems in Delhi, including the very infamous rape incident after which they had to suspend their services in the capital city.
Now, today when Odd-Even had first full working day, obviously the demand for the cabs went through the roof. In some cases, the surge was around 7-8 times of normal pricing. Now, if Uber was caught charging that kind of fares, they would have been in big trouble, and would have even got their permit cancelled.
Rather, Uber took a safer route to temporarily suspend their surge pricing, which will give them time to work out a feasible solution with Delhi Government.
We will keep you posted as soon as we get further details.
[…] After Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal threatened to cancel their permits, both Ola and Uber decided to suspend surge pricing during the period of odd-even rule in […]